Personality indicators and emergency permit teachers' willingness to embrace technology.As a result of innovative technologies designed to enhance learning, today's teachers must learn to incorporate the newer technologies into instructional strategies. The present study examined the impact of certain personality types and secondary education teachers' inclination to use technology. A sample of 200 Emergency Permit teachers were surveyed using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Definition The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a widely-used personality inventory, or test, employed in vocational, educational, and psychotherapy settings to evaluate personality type in adolescents and adults age 14 and a questionnaire designed to determine willingness to use technology. A one-way ANOVA anova see analysis of variance. ANOVA Analysis of variance, see there test was applied to group means. Findings indicate that intuitive/thinking types of personalities were more likely to use technology in teaching while the sensory/feeling types were the least likely. Rapid technological transformations highlight the importance of a technology-based and integrated learning environment for students (Reed & Sautter, 1987; Crow & Buckley, 1988; Riley, 1993). However, in a recent study conducted by the U. S. Department of Education (2000), only 23% of public school teachers felt well prepared to use computers and the Internet in their teaching. In order to meet future challenges, it is vital that increasing numbers of teachers integrate technology into the curriculum. It is essential for educational programs that prepare teachers to provide those fundamental technology skills for candidates. Wise, Leibbrand, and Williams (1997) suggest a major challenge facing teacher education programs concern technology acquisition issues. Grindler and Straton (1990) found that the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory (MBTI MBTI Myers-Briggs Type Indicator ) results could be used to help teachers develop different teaching methods and more readily accept using various teaching resources and technology. The instrument can also be used to help educators understand how individuals process information, and make decisions and adaptations through self-reflection (Lyons, 1984: Thompson & Borrello, 1986; McNickle & Veltman, 1986; Clark & Peterson, 1986). Erdle, Murray, and Rushton (1985) found that specific personality traits of teachers are reflected in classroom instruction, especially through the teacher's use of various learning materials and instructional strategies. Meisgeier and Richardson (1996) concluded that teachers and preservice teachers who understand various personality implications may have a more global understanding of a useful framework for modeling instructional technology There are two types of instructional technology: those with a systems approach, and those focusing on sensory technologies. The definition of instructional technology prepared by the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) Definitions and Terminology . They also are more likely to include the newer technologies as a tool to integrate the curriculum. Research results support the use of the MBTI as a valid means to identify different types of cognitive styles. Studies indicate that extroverted ex·tro·vert·ed also ex·tra·vert·ed adj. Marked by interest in and behavior directed toward others or the environment as opposed to or to the exclusion of self; gregarious or outgoing: , stable, and tough-minded personalities were receptive to the use of the computer (Grant & Cambre, 1990; Katz, 1992). "Intuitive/thinking" (NT) types of intermediate/secondary teachers were snore snore (snor) 1. rough, noisy breathing during sleep, due to vibration of the uvula and soft palate. 2. to produce such sounds during sleep. snore v. receptive to the use of technology than the "sensory/feeling" (SF) types (Sudol, 1991: Katz, 1992; Smith, Monday & Windham, 1995). Teachers identified as SF have been identified as least comfortable with technology (Grindler & Straton, 1990; Smith, Munday & Windham, 1995). Given the importance of teacher technology skills acquisition and technology usage, the present study was undertaken to further investigate personality types and willingness to embrace technology. The study was also designed to obtain relevant information from the growing number of emergency permit teachers. Methodology The MBTI and a questionnaire designed to measure teachers' willingness to use technology were utilized in the present investigation. The MBTI is a widely used personality inventory with positive evidence of its construct validity construct validity, n the degree to which an experimentally-determined definition matches the theoretical definition. (Thompson & Borrello, 1994). Mendelsohn (1965) reported that 11 an unusually large body of reliability and validity data"(p. 321) has been completed on the MBTI. Test-retest correlation of approximately 0.70 was obtained for three of the indices and 0.48 for the fourth. Further, Mendelsohn (1965) reported internal consistency In statistics and research, internal consistency is a measure based on the correlations between different items on the same test (or the same subscale on a larger test). It measures whether several items that propose to measure the same general construct produce similar scores. reliabilities (split-half) for the indices ranged from 0.70 to 0.80. The MBTI (Form G) (Myers & Briggs, 1993) is a self-administering questionnaire that has a 96 item, forced-choice, self-scoring format. Scores generate eight basic personality preferences. This study used the following four combinations: Sensory/Feeling (SF), Sensory/Thinking (ST), Intuitive/ Feeling (NF), and Intuitive/Thinking (NT). The technology survey was developed by Smith (1993) and reported by Smith, Munday & Windham (1995). Background literature and similar studies guided the selection of questionnaire items (Dezell, 1989; Callister & Burbules, 1990; Cicchelli & Baecher, 1989). Content validity content validity, n the degree to which an experiment or measurement actually reflects the variable it has been designed to measure. was established using a panel of six professional educators with expertise in the field of educational technology. The questionnaire contained 20 statements, with 10 items positively stated and 10 negatively stated. A Likert-type scale was used to indicate the relative importance of each item. Participants During the Spring Semester 2000, a sample of 200 emergency permit intermediate and secondary novice teachers enrolled in university courses, and who were currently on contract in Northeast Texas Northeast Texas is a region in the northeast corner of the U.S. state of Texas. It is geographically centered around two metropolitan areas strung along Interstate 20: Tyler in the west and Longview/Marshall to the east. area school districts were invited to participate in the study. Data for this study were acquired from scores on a technology questionnaire and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI Form G). Additional demographic information was obtained from personal reports included in the questionnaire. Of the 200 teachers contacted, 164 returned both instruments with their responses. Results To investigate the reliability (internal consistency) of the technology survey, an alpha statistic was calculated on the 20 Likert items. Results indicate high internal consistency ([alpha] = .86). To assess the impact of personality types and teacher willingness to embrace technology, a one-way ANOVA procedure was applied to group means. A significant omnibus F-ratio was calculated, F (3,155) = 6.017, p<.01. The ANOVA source table with effect size data is reported in Table 1. Results from subsequently performed Tukey post-hoc comparison tests are provided in Table 2. Significant differences were found in technology acceptance mean scores between the following Myers-Briggs Types: Intuitive/Feeling (NF) and Sensory/Feeling (SF): Intuitive Thinking (NT) and Sensory/ Feeling (SF); and Intuitive/Thinking (NT) and Sensory/Thinking (ST). Select descriptive statistics descriptive statistics see statistics. of technology scores for each Myers-Briggs type group are provided in Table 3. Larger numbers reflect greater technology acceptance. Program participants classified as Intuitive (both NT & NF) were more receptive to the use of technology than Sensory (ST & SF) types. Discussion The present study is congruent con·gru·ent adj. 1. Corresponding; congruous. 2. Mathematics a. Coinciding exactly when superimposed: congruent triangles. b. with research on type-indicators conducted by Grindler & Straton (1990) and Smith, Munday & Windham (1995). Secondary teachers identified as Intuitive/Thinking are more receptive to the use of technology than the Sensory types. Teachers labeled Sensory/Feeling were least likely to be comfortable with technology. It is recommended that teacher education programs consider personality factors when designing technology related curricula. Individualizing instructional techniques to best meet identified preferences and styles is suggested. For effective training, educators need to design programs for pre- and in-service teachers that include descriptions of how different personalities can best use technology with diverse students. Those individuals more inclined to use technology may be identified to work in interdisciplinary teams with others who are less inclined to use the newer technologies. Identification with individualized instruction Individualized instruction is a method of instruction in which content, instructional materials, instructional media, and pace of learning are based upon the abilities and interests of each individual learner. may successfully reduce anxieties often experienced by some novice teachers.
Table 1
Analysis of Variance, Emergency Permit Teacher's Willingness to
Use Technology by Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
Source SS df MS F p n2
Between 3491.85 3 1163.95 6.017 .001 .12
Within 29983.86 155 193.44
Total 33475.71 158
Table 2
Mean Differences and Tukey Post-hoc Comparisons
NF NT SF ST
Intuitive/ Intuitive/ Sensory/ Sensory/
Feeling Thinking Feeling Thinking
NF 4.2295 9.7806* 6.0520
NT 14.0101* 10.2816*
SF 3.7286
Note: An asterisk (*) represents a pair of groups significantly
different (p<.05).
Table 3
Technology Scores by Myers-Briggs Type, Select Descriptive Statistics
Myers-Briggs Type Number Mean Standard Deviation
Intuitive/Feeling 43 100.81 11.99
Intuitive/Thinking 23 105.04 11.47
Sensory/Feeling 30 91.03 13.09
Sensory/Thinking 63 94.76 16.11
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Highland Park Highland Park. 1 City (1990 pop. 30,575), Lake co., NE Ill., a suburb of Chicago on Lake Michigan; inc. 1869. It is a retail business and medical center for the North Shore area. , N.J.: Gryphon. Myers, I. B., & Briggs, K. (1993). Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Form G. Consulting Psychologist Press: Palo Alto Palo Alto, city, California Palo Alto (păl`ō ăl`tō), city (1990 pop. 55,900), Santa Clara co., W Calif.; inc. 1894. Although primarily residential, Palo Alto has aerospace, electronics, and advanced research industries. . CA: Consulting Psychology Press. Reed, S., & Sautter, R. C. (1987). Visions of the 1990's: What experts predict for educational technology in the next decade. Electronic Learning, 7(8), 18-25. Riley, R. W. (1993). Making the most of computers. Teaching Pre-K-8, 30, 4. Retrieved October 4, 2001 from FirstSearch Database. Smith, B. J. (1993). The effect of selected, specific personaility characteristics on teachers' willingness to use technology (Doctoral dissertation, East Texas State University. 1993). Dissertation Abstracts International, 54. 07A. Smith, B., Monday. R., & Windham, R. (1995). Prediction of teachers' use of technology based on personality type. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 22(3), 281-285. Sudol, R. A. (1991). Personality influence on student use of word processing word processing, use of a computer program or a dedicated hardware and software package to write, edit, format, and print a document. Text is most commonly entered using a keyboard similar to a typewriter's, although handwritten input (see pen-based computer) and . Paper presented at the annul an·nul tr.v. an·nulled, an·nul·ling, an·nuls 1. To make or declare void or invalid, as a marriage or a law; nullify. 2. meeting of the Conference on College Composition and Communication The Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC, affectionately referred to as Four C's) is a national professional association of college and university writing instructors in the USA. , Boston, MA. Thompson, B., & Borelo, G. (1994). Construct validity of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 46(3), 745-52. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statics statics, branch of mechanics concerned with the maintenance of equilibrium in bodies by the interaction of forces upon them (see force). It incorporates the study of the center of gravity (see center of mass) and the moment of inertia. . Teacher use of Computers and the Internet in Public Schools. Washington d. C., NCES NCES National Center for Education Statistics NCES Net-Centric Enterprise Services (US DoD) NCES Network Centric Enterprise Services NCES Net Condition Event Systems 2000. Wise, A. E., Leibbrand, J. A., & B. C. Williams (1997). NCATE's response to critical issues in teacher preparation today. Action in Teacher Education. 19(2), 1-6. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Dr. Sharon Chambers, Secondary and Higher Education higher education Study beyond the level of secondary education. Institutions of higher education include not only colleges and universities but also professional schools in such fields as law, theology, medicine, business, music, and art. . P.O. Box 3011, Commerce, TX 75429-3011, E-mail: Sharon_Chambers@tamucommerce.edu. Drs. Sharon Chambers, James Hardy James Hardy may refer to:
or primary education Traditionally, the first stage of formal education, beginning at age 5–7 and ending at age 11–13. . Texas A&M University-Commerce. |
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